It used to be you saw the video on such exciting new music channels as MTV or even the poster. May be you read an excellent interview in a pop magazine and thought the artist was just so good lucking. Could be your best friends latest crush on the pop star which was plastered all over their walls with the music blasting when you went to visit their house made you go out and bu the CD.

Even before all the hype started the first time a person might of heard the band or singer could have been on the radio or on a friends TV or even via seeing a really nice album cover that caught their eye and made them want to hear the music.

Well all that seems to be gone. Today there is no album cover needed. No posters need be seen. Not even any MTV. So just how do people know what music they want to buy and how do marketers get them to buy it? Technology has provided us with MP3s, and IPODs as well as downloadable music from the internet and the purchasing of downloads at your local Argos store with iTunes even. How does a marketer get people to buy the music? Its a whole new ball game where only the tech savvy can survive in these modern times…

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Today you can get away with making a CD cover thats just has a bunch of words jumbled up on it in large type from some of the recent samples I’ve seen. What happened to nice pics of bands or singers dressed in all manner of costumes. In fact what happened to one singer or band on the album at all. Seems some of the most popular albums are a mix of a variety of different bands on one album.

This change of scene as regards advertising images is probably due to the shifts in the music and film industry market. Today technology has opened up a whole new way of marketing these products and changed the direction and focus of ad men and women world wide. Even the way the products are purchased has changed.

Instead of popping into your local record and CD store or the movie section in your local department store today one need only go a Personal Computer in their home or their friends homes and download almost any movie or CD they like. You can search even by genre, movie title, actors and artists name. No need to go in the rain to the shop and look through hundreds of CD and DVD covers to find yor favourite movie anymore. All can be purchased at the (mouse) click of a few buttons with a PC and internet connection) at your leisure.

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The Lion King poster by John Alvin, 1994 is a site to behold. It has a wonderful use of colour and imagery that give a feel for the movie. The poster depicts the face of the Lion, the king of the jungle up in the sky as though this is the god of the animals, the one they all look up to.

The clouds seem to part as the large face of the lion is seen up in the clouds whilst the animal kingdom looks towards the lion and assembles them selves below. The suns rays emanate form the contrasting dark clouds onto the actual lion below who is standing on a cliff above the mountains and myriad of animals that have congregated below.

The lion looks upwards to his image in the sky above seemingly. The animals roundabout on the green plains below are in the shadow of dark circles and hollows with their backs to the viewer looking inwards towards the cliffs, facing the grand leader of the jungle.

There are elephants, goats, giraffes, monkeys and oxen that can be deciphered by the shapes of the silhouettes of animals surrounding the cliff. The colours are vivid where the sun shines onto the landscape. There are brilliant blues, browns. greens and yellows representing the bounty of natures colours.

The meadows are displayed in rich green and yellows. The face of the Lion king in the clouds look proudly onwards and upwards slightly and seems to be framed by lightning bolts of the clouds perimeters as the face is shines through the clouds with light emanating from below the face and above the clouds as though the lion above is about to descend below.

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The sculptural piece by the Chapmans is made up of a dozen or more mutated pubescent department store mannequins. The faces of some are angelic, others distorted with adult genitalia in place of mouths and noses, much similar to sex inflated dolls. Their smooth glossy bodies are naked except all are sporting black Fila sneakers. They are genital-less and fused or siamesed together creating a circle of hermaphrodic torsos. Not only do they bring to mind a grotesque experiment gone awry with gene slicing embryo stem cell tampering and cloning or maybe by products of environmental contamination; they also reference interpretations of underlying corruption within advertising and mass marketing. These are post-modern statements with shocking subversive commentary.

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The annual Untitled Artists Fair will be hanging around Chelsea’s Old Town Hall in London on the weekend of Saturday 5^th June and Sunday 6^th of June, featuring the works of over 170 talented artists.

Untitled is the largest artists fair in the United kingdom with over 7500 visitors each year. The gallery and subsequent arts fair was founded to promote the best emerging talent in all visual arts, including painting, sculpture, prints, digital works, photography and installation. It’s beauty of thought is not only does it benefit young up and coming artists to showcase their work, but also allows art lovers, buyers and gallery owners the chance to see the rising talent on the horizon and pocket a picture for a more than reasonable price, not only that but additional temporary storage units and galleries are put up to hold all of the emerging artists work.

For the unknown artist, the Untitled exhibition is a major spring board into the art world. Untitled are recognised for helping unknown artists promote their work and also have a reputation for high standards, so the customer is genuinely assured of a quality artwork at discounted prices. What’s more, all sales go direct to the artist meaning they get 100% of the sales price rather than having to give galleries or agents a good slice of commission. Receipts for solo artists can reach the six figure mark with an average sales success of over 25 pieces each.

All exhibited works on display are original and unique, some of which sell for as little as £25. Featured artists include Christian Furr who was the youngest artist to officially paint Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II together with artists that have been promoted by renowned gallery owner, Charles Saatchi.

Admission to the arts fair is free of charge and opens from 10am to 7pm on Saturday 5^th June and again on Sunday 6^th June from 11am to 5pm.

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When it comes to the world of art there are so many names of brilliant painters, sculptors and film makers that come to mind that it is often impossible for people to name their favourite. However, for me, that is not an issue. I know exactly who my favourite artist is. It is the man whose paintings inspired not only a love for art, but a re-ignited interest in the science fiction and fantasy world. This man is Brom.

It was because of Brom, that I decided I would take my art seriously and try to get really good at it. For the last five years or so I could fill storage units with all the images that I have studied, copied and painted of Brom’s best works in an effort to learn the anatomy, composition, colour theory and perspective. It has been a long road and I know I will never stop learning, but Brom has also made me the artist I am today.

Brom is a fantasy artist who works mainly in oils. He is a pupil, as we all are to some extent, of the great Frank Frazetta, the Godfather of fantasy art. His technique is flawless and his rendering is jaw droppingly good. His ability in drawing the human figure is something I can’t get my head around and that is what inspires me more than anything. I want to be that good.

He has no idea of this of course and I am sure I am not the only one to take up the easel, or even the digital pen and take on a career in art through the inspiration his images give. I will be forever grateful for his work as I can’t imagine my life without art now.

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But to begin with it’s just a headache, let’s be honest. The beginner may find his / her work turns muddy for no apparent reason (wait, he or she WILL find that for as long as oils are oils…) and that a misuse of turps causes the paint to take far too long to dry. Here are a few tips to get right at the beginning:

1) Don’t go out and spend money on a piece of board, instead, use an old backing-board from a painting. Once you’ve covered it in paint nobody will be able to tell the difference.

2) Prime the board before painting with oils, so that there is a clear contrast between the white emulsion. This way the oil paint won’t sink in to the wood.

3) Be patient. Once the base oil is applied (usually you start with the mountains at the back, or the sky, or the Luxury designer bedding: whatever is most dominant) leave it to at least half-dry. Start too early and the paint will blend together. Not something you want when you are just learning the basics.

4) Clean the brushes out with turps after use. Leaving them coated in oil paint may be easier and less messy, but you’ll end up with dry, nasty brushes that won’t be in the mood to help you.

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As a digital artist trying to grow my talents, it was difficult to find a place, on the web, to meet with other artists and to learn. That was until about 3 years ago, when I stumbled across Conceptart.org. Don’t be fooled by the website’s name, this isn’t just a place for concept artists, it is a place for all artists, both traditional and digital.

My goals as an artist are simple, I want to draw and paint the pictures I want and if I sell any then that is a bonus. The website is free to join and after you have signed up you become a part of the biggest online art community there is. The forums are filled with dedicated artists, both amateur and professional who are all eager to help you grow as an artist and get better at it.

They are there to offer advice, criticisms and to share their, often inspiring work with the whole community. Also in the forums are places to post your CV and to bid for freelance jobs. As the site has grown, it has offered more and more to its members. Downloadable online classes and tutorials are available, for a reasonable fee, and are invaluable if one wants to become a better artist. Remember, that those who created the downloadable content are professional artists who know what it takes and what needs to be learned to become a better and successful artist.

I am an entirely self taught artist and the help I have received over the years from this amazing website has improved my talents so much that my work from 3 years ago is unrecognisable. It hasn’t cost me a penny to gain this valuable information and help and I have networked with industry professionals and contacts. For anyone considering a career in art, Conceptart.org is the place to go.

Update: I just talked to Jenny who is officially employeed as a designer for a DVD packaging business! Bravo! (Now maybe I won’t need to pay ALL the rent…)

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I grew up in a fairly nondescript town of Northern England surrounded by terraced housing and rolling windswept hills. One of the consolations though was the proximity of a sculpture park, and as a child I was particularly fascinated by the collection of Henry Moore sculptures housed there. They seemed to me as magnificent and imposing as the Easter Island heads. Now living in Leeds I will soon get the chance to reacquaint myself with the works of the great man at a new retrospective given by Tate Britain.

From 24^th February to 8^th August the Tate Gallery at Millbank is hosting the most extensive collection of Henry Moore sculptures seen in the United Kingdom for many decades. This promises to be one of the London art events of the year and should help to re-establish Henry Moore as one of the greatest British artists of the 20^th Century.

Moore was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire in 1898 to a mining family. Moore was expected to enter this subterranean world himself but his artistic brilliance manifested itself at an early age. Moore’s experiences in the trenches of World War I provided the catalyst for his entry into the world of art. Using fantastical, abstract sculptures Moore tried to bring some definition to the carnage and chaos that he had witnessed. In later years Moore came to be known for his abstract human figures, particularly his ‘mother and child’ sculptures. His large, bronze castings often depict reclining forms, and abstract, curvaceous shapes replete with holes and piercings. Some critics believe that his beautifully undulating sculptures are a reflection of the Yorkshire hills of his birthplace.

Moore’s work grew in popularity and acclaim throughout the Twentieth Century but his work has become a victim of its own success, the sheer ubiquity of Moore’s sculptures has lessened the incredible visual and emotive impact that they can have. This new exhibition at Tate Britain, containing a selection of his stunning paintings of the World War II blitz as well as many great sculptures, should go some way to defining Henry Moore again as the greatest sculptor of his time.

I also just want to give a shout out to the enigin design team, some of the stuff they are coming out with is truly amazing!

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Walking into a gallery and talking to the owner as you both wander around looking at all the fantastic canvases might give you the impression that you have to get an expert to stretch your canvases for you; while it’s advisable if you plan to exhibit the work to a high standard, it isn’t essential. With a small amount of training anyone can make their own canvases and for a decent price. All you need is the following: a frame, some canvas, some decent pliers with a wide surface area—canvas pliers especially for the job can be bought from artists suppliers—and a staple gun.

1) Cut the canvas so it’s a few inches bigger all the way around than your frame. You can always cut it down afterwards, but don’t cut it more until it’s at least semi stapled down.

2) Lay the canvas down and put the frame on top, then pull the top piece over and staple it in the middle of the frame. Always staple the back of the frame and not the sides.

3) Do the same with all four sides, until each side has a single staple or two in the middle.

4) Now you need to pull with the pliers and put more staples in the first side you started with. Don’t staple either side of the first staple, work in one direction first, pulling the canvas taught.

5) Once you’ve done this on all four sides it will start to get more taught, like a drum. Continue until the canvas is very tight, leaving a couple of inches so the corners are free.

6) When you get to the corners, fold them over so that the canvas forms a neat corner, then staple. For more advice on making a good corner it would be advisable to consult a specialist website, of which there are many.

Before I log off, I am making an effort at figuring out something for my best friend as a gift. When I was having a chat with her the other day she said that she would like a new set of running clothes. Does anyone know of a close place to get them?

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